-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- As rescue efforts continue Tuesday , Colombia 's president will visit the mountainside neighborhood where a massive landslide buried dozens of homes .

By Monday night , search crews had uncovered 23 dead bodies there , the Red Cross said , and more than 120 people could still be trapped underground .

`` We are still hoping to find people alive , '' Red Cross National Deputy Director Jorge Ivan Nova said Monday .

But he said survival becomes less likely as time passes .

Rescuers had pulled at least seven injured people from the rubble after Sunday 's landslide in Bello , Colombia , which buried between 30 and 50 homes , Nova said . Officials believe the neighborhood was particularly packed Sunday afternoon -- a time when families commonly get together for meals , he said .

`` I hope they can be rescued . You could hear screams below the homes . I ask that they not stop the search . Thank God I could save my son and my husband also is alive . But I lost many loved ones , '' resident Maria Garcia told CNN affiliate Caracol TV .

More than 700 people were working in shifts on search teams at the site Monday , Caracol reported .

Amid the chaos of the rescue effort , a young boy tugged firefighter Carlos Garcia 's belt .

`` He asked me , ` firefighter , where are we going to sleep tonight ? ' And what most impacted me was seeing his little face . I also have a 6-year-old boy , '' Garcia told Caracol .

About 150 people from the neighborhood were in nearby shelters , Caracol reported , and government officials said they were evacuating other neighborhoods in the area .

`` The zone , geologically , is very unstable , '' Diego Munoz , Bello 's government secretary , told Caracol .

At least 194 people have been killed and 248 injured after torrential rains throughout Colombia that have affected nearly 1.6 million people , according to the country 's interior ministry . The downpours have caused landslides and overflowing rivers , destroying at least 2,040 houses and damaging nearly 270,000 more nationwide , the ministry said .

Colombia is considering declaring a state of emergency to devote more resources to response and rescue efforts , Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said Sunday , describing the rains and flooding as `` a tragedy that has no precedent in the history of our country . ''

The president said he plans to travel Tuesday to Bello -- a suburb of Medellin , Colombia .

`` My heart is with the victims of this terrible tragedy ... In a few hours we will go directly to Medellin to be with the victims ' families and tell them , ` Whatever the government can do to mitigate this pain and suffering , we will be there , ' '' Santos said in a statement Monday .

CNN 's Esprit Smith contributed to this report .

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Search crews have uncovered 23 dead bodies and seven injured survivors

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Red Cross rescuers are still hoping to find survivors in the rubble

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Officials are evacuating others in the area , which is considered unstable geologically

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Colombia 's president says rains have caused devastating floods throughout the country